BBC News cut to give BBC Three a linear TV slot

The post-10pm news slot on BBC One is being handed over to BBC Three programmes from 4th March 2019.

Beginning at 10:35pm, between Monday and Wednesday every week, a selection of BBC Three programmes will be showcased in a new, regular slot after the News at Ten on BBC One.

Question Time will remain after the News on Thursdays but at the earlier time of 10:35pm. On Fridays the news and weather already finish at 10:35, with Graham Norton retaining that slot.

The BBC says it "believes the change will better serve their audiences".

The first wave of titles in the BBC Three slot will be the second series of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s award winning Fleabag, followed by new dating format Eating With My Ex and Stacey Dooley fronted make-up competition Glow-Up playing across Monday-Wednesday respectively.

Following a pilot during the run-up to the 2015 general election, the BBC has been running a longer News at Ten, regional news and weather package. These changes reverse the duration of the news to its original length.

More BBC Three titles will be shown later in the year on BBC One, which will include a mix of factual entertainment, documentary, current affairs and comedy titles, including Jerk, Britain’s Youngest Football Boss, and The Rap Game. Programmes will also be available on BBC Three on BBC iPlayer, where audiences can find BBC Three’s full offering of long-form and short-form programmes.

In addition to the regular zone on BBC One, which was actually originally promised as part of the BBC Three TV channel closedown proposals, the BBC says it's "developing BBC iPlayer’s home screen to help viewers find new BBC Three content more easily". In recent months, a516digital readers had reported that mentions of BBC Three had all but vanished across a number of BBC internet index pages.

The announcement comes three years after the BBC Three TV channel was closed and months after Ofcom research found only 8% of viewers in BBC Three's target audience actually watched BBC Three programmes online.